It's Christmas Time!

Rob and Kristi were here for Thanksgiving weekend and we really enjoyed Makenzi! She has grown so much in the last two months! She has always been so hard to get a picture of! She is constantly on the move! We have very few pictures of her that aren't blurred! We took alot of video of her this year since still pictures weren't to be had!!


These next 3 pictures are out of order. So, I will just tell you about them in one fell swoop! Trisha Jewett gave me napkin that she wanted me to use as the inspiration piece of the the large bulletin board (4'x8') in the Family Center at church. They are the napkins that will be used for the reception following the "It's a Time for Joy!" cantata. So, this is what I came up with. I wnated to use one of those paper mache deer, but I think that would have been too much fo rmy budget so I used the trusty projector and enlarged the deer from the napkin and used spray glue and 3 shades of glitter. I sued my Cricut for the verse and it says, "O, the precious name of Jesus! How it fills our souls with joy!" I used a cheap cloth tablecloth for the background that I will cover over in January and then uncover for February's board.

For years I have done bulletin boards and I am just now getting into the habit of taking pictures of them. These are the two that are in my Sunday School classroom. I got the ideas for them from http://www.boardsgalore.com/. GREAT site for bulletin boards- children's SS, adult bulletin boards, school classrooms and special events.

The "wood" is contact paper that I used a permanent marker on to make the individual planks. I first tried to hot glue the straw onto poster board, but spray glue worked best. I didn't have time to freehand Mary and Baby Jesus so I used my projector and enlarged a picture of them from a gift bag and made a few adjustments.

This year's Christmas decor is very different for us. Last year the kids said they wanted to do the trees like the trees at church... clustered and no ornaments, just white lights. Now, I live with a bunch of Scrooges, so when they ask for something as far as Christmas decor that I think is do-able, you better believe I am doing it! I am very happy with the results!

I focused in the living room and didn't do every nook and cranny. The overall look is more winter than Christmas, and I prefer that.

This architectural piece has been floating around my house for a couple of years, but never in an actual decor spot. I think it found it's home..

I saw a fireplace mantle done similar to this on a website and decided I had to do it! I wish I could remember whose blog it was on so I could give proper credit. They used a frame they found at a thrift stroe. I tried. Really, I did. I went to 5-6 different Goodwill's and even on their 1/2 price day I would have only saved less than $7 than this frame that I bought at Flower Factory. The ones I would have got at GW I would have had to clean and paint. I hope to have family pictures taken this soon so I can use this frame for that later. This is different, but I love it!

These candlesticks were some I had in the dining room. I didn't get candles for these so I just put a band of ribbon around them. It is the same ribbon that is on the wreath and frame. I should have taken a close-up of it because it is so pretty. It is a sheer cranberry with a gold embroidery.

I did get a close-up of this material. I have been eyeing it FF for a while and wondering where I could use it. It is a tone on tone sheer. It is a brighter red and adds the right amount of pop for all of the darker reds.

Here's the overall look of the living room. The three trees are make our own little winter wonderland. With all sizes of trees (those 2 little ones by the big trees being the smallest)
we have 9 trees in the living room. Usually they are scattered around the house. The urns/pots that the smaller trees are in were already in the living room on the hearth.

The hutch in the dining room got most of the attention this year, with jsut touches around the room. I haven't even done a centerpiece yet because Natalie's wedding is this weekend and I still have a tiny bit of work to do on that. (I cannot wait until I can show you pictures from that!) On Thursday we will have our family Christmas so I will have a center piece for that and will probably take pictures then.

I love my Pfaltzgraf Winterberry dinnerware set. As you probably know, I love dishes and I love them even more when they aren't locked into one day. I use these well into February.

This is my Nativity set that my sister Debbi made for my Daddy and when he passed away I got it. My step-mother had it on straw... me... I have it on lace this year.

This is Makenzi's Christmas Corner. The little stove and sink is a set I "helped" a dear friend of our make for Rachel when she was about 4. As you can see I need to get new knobs and a new "sink." And the door to the oven is needing to be replaced. Someday.... In the cabinet is "food" and dishes with pot and pans!

These little friends are jsut waiting for Kenzi to come and play! My sister also painted the little sled on the step. Two little bunnies are putting up a banner that says Merry Christmas!

Debbi also painted this teddy bear plaque. She was amazing! She her work freehand. She passed away in 2000. We loved her work before but they are treasures to us now.

So, there's the 2009 Christmas decor for the Fye Household. I think I made my Scrooge's happy. Now, maybe, just maybe, they won't complain too much when the Christmas music is playing.

I'll leave with this thought as the cry of our hearts:

"Each year some new heart finally hears, finally sees, finally knows loves, and in heaven, there is great rejoicing! The Child is born anew, and one more knee is bowed!"

- Ann Weems